What I Use: Late November 2011

I get a lot of questions about the hardware and software I actually use. With the understanding that the reality of my job requires me to change my daily computing repertoire on a regular basis, what the heck, here's the list. I'll try to keep this up-to-date, but again, my testing requirements often cause me to change things up with little notice.

Note: With the exception of some Microsoft software such as Windows and Office, I've paid for all the commercial software I use and mention below. Unless noted, I paid for all of the hardware, software, and subscription services listed here, and I do pretty much recommend it all. This isn't an opportunity for me to sell you on some vendor's products. This is what I really do use regularly.

Computers

While I maintain a wide range of laptop computers for testing purposes, most of my day-to-day computing occurs on a small range of "core" machines, which typically consists of one desktop PC and one notebook computer.

Primary notebook PC

Early this year, I purchased a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 420S, which features a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 14-inch (1366 x 768) glossy screen, and a 128 GB of SSD storage. I like this machine a lot, but if I could do it over again, I'd get the ThinkPad X1, which wasn't available at the time.

Tablet computing device

I've been using a Samsung 700T slate PC since the BUILD conference in September, exclusively for Windows 8 Developer Preview testing and for writing my next book, Windows 8 Secrets. This machine features an 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) widescreen, multi-touch display, a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 i5-2467M processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of SSD storage plus a 32 GB micro-SD card I added. Battery life is decent, but not exceptional (it's in the 4-5 hour range), and it works well, if a bit loudly thanks to a sometimes noisy fan.

Other computers

I use a number of other computers, mostly laptops, for testing purposes. Lately, this has meant the Windows 8 Developer Preview. These machines include a Dell XPS M1330 (eh), a Lenovo ThinkPad X300, a Lenovo ThinkPad SL410, a Toshiba NB200 netbook, and an Acer Aspire R1600, which is an underpowered netbook-class "net-top" computer with an Atom processor.

Dell XPS, ThinkPad Edge, and ThinkPad X300.

I also have a Google Cr-48 Chromebook, which I barely use.

Servers

I've got three servers at home. Who doesn't?

Windows Home Server 2011

After years of using various (and excellent) HP MediaSmart Servers, I have switched to Windows Home Server 2011 running on a Dell Optiplex 780 workstation tower system with a 3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E7500 (3M, 1066MHz FSB) and 4 GB of RAM. I utilize Server Backup and cloud-backup (via Crashplan) for data duplication.

I recently added a Rosewill RSV-S4-X 4-bay eSATA enclosure to provide additional local storage. Currently, it has two 3 TB drives installed, bringing the total storage attached to the server to about 13 TB, some of which is dedicated to backup.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials

My SBS domain is now running on an HP Proliant MicroServer with an AMD Athlon II processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a single 320 GB hard drive (for now). It has four drive bays, but I haven't permanently added any additional storage yet.

Windows Server 2008 R2

My old PC is now a server: The Dell Inspiron 537s features a 3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 and 4 GB of RAM. It's running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V and is used mostly for virtual machine testing.

Portable devices

I use a number of portable devices, much more so when I'm on the road.

Smart phones

I also have several other smart phones for testing purposes, including an iPhone 4S (2011) with iOS 5, a Samsung Focus Flash (2011) and Samsung Focus (2010), both with Windows Phone 7.5, and a Motorola Droid X (2010) with Android 2.3.3. (Additionally, I have an iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, neither of which are currently used.)

Tablets

I have an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet computing device and an Apple iPad (first generation). Both are used for similar reasons: To watch movies and to read technical eBooks (programming books, etc.) and PDF documents. I very rarely do anything else with either.

iPods

My current portable media player is the most recent iPod touch (4th generation) with 32 GB of storage. I use this regularly for music (gym, traveling), podcasts, audio-based iTunes content, and audiobooks. I also have an iPod nano (8 GB) and iPod shuffle (2 GB) for testing purposes.

Portable device caddy

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

I always travel with Bose noise cancelling headphones and recommend them highly. I alternate between the bigger and more effective BoseQuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones and the smaller and lighter BoseQuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones.

Amazon Kindle

I read books--and two newspapers every day--on my dedicated Kindle device. The current one is the most recent version, the base Kindle (with Wi-Fi and Special Offers). Highly recommended, and the special offers are actually often quite useful.

Digital camera

With excellent smart phone cameras becoming the norm, I rarely use a dedicated point and click anymore. But when I do, it's a Canon PowerShot SX320 HS. It features a 12 megapixel sensor with widescreen photo and HD video capabilities, and GPS tagging. But it's not particularly noteworthy and not something I recommend necessarily.

Home technology

One of the big advantages of storing memories (photos and movies) and music and video collections on a PC or home server is that you can then share them to other compatible devices around the house.

FIOS Internet, phone, TV

We were lucky enough to be among the first in the Northeast US to get Verizon FIOS Internet service a few years back, and since then we've upgraded to their phone and TV services as well. The FIOS TV service is particularly good, with numerous non-compressed HDTV channels. We use the built-in DVR to record TV shows. It's not as good as Media Center (what is?) but it's more integrated and it works fine. Our TV is a 46-inch flat screen Vizio LED LCD HDTV, which is actually excellent and was very inexpensive.

Apple TV

The Apple TV is our go-to box for our PC-based music, photos, and videos (TV shows and movies). We sometimes rent movies from iTunes as well.

Roku 2 XS

The Roku 2 XS is the best Netflix player we have, and it supports subtitles as well as numerous other online services.

Xbox 360 S

We don't use the Xbox 360 S as much as we used to, and the Kinect has come and gone. I'm keeping it in the living room for the occasional DVD and for testing Microsoft's new Internet TV service. This is the high-end Xbox 360 S that comes with a 250 GB hard drive and glossy finish.

Macs

Unlike some of my trendier contemporaries, I've always had at least one modern Mac in the house for testing purposes. These days I have two: A desktop and a notebook.

Mac mini (2010)

My 2010-era Mac mini has a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. It's for OS X, OS X Server, and other Apple product and services testing, and it's not a particularly fast machine. Nor is it used regularly.

Macbook Air (Late 2010, 11-inch)

I bought a used 2010-era 11-inch Macbook Air from a friend for OS X testing and iOS software development using Xcode. It has 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of solid state storage. It's a little small for my tastes, but it works well for what I need.

A couple of Macs

Software and Services

Like many people, I have stock collection of software that I install every time I reinstall Windows or get a new PC.

Operating system

I am currently using the Windows 8 Developer Preview build on most of my PCs. I do not recommend this for most people, of course: Windows 7 is a much better choice at this time.

Productivity

I use, rely on, and recommend Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus, primarily Microsoft Word (hey, I do write for a living) and OneNote. I use Microsoft's Windows Live Mesh service to synchronize key files between my PCs and Windows Live SkyDrive; it works well.

For email, contacts, and calendar management, I use a mix of Exchange 2010 (work, via Outlook Web Access) and Gmail/Google Calendar (personal). I have email accounts (Hotmail, Yahoo, iCloud, etc.) on numerous services for testing purposes, but these are currently all being forwarded through the two main accounts.

Internet and communications

For web browsing, I use a mix of Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, and occasionally Apple Safari for testing. I use and recommend Last Pass for online password management (it works in all major browsers) and Invisible Hand for product price comparisons.

I use Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging with friends and family only, and don't really like it at all. I use Skype all the time to record podcasts and to chat with Rafael Rivera, my Windows Secrets co-author.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family only and Twitter to communicate with the world about tech topics.

Security

I use and recommend the free Microsoft Security Essentials. My entire family uses it, and we've never had a single issue. (Windows 8 includes this software now.)

Digital media

I use Apple iTunes as my primary digital media jukebox, but only because this software is still required to effectively use an iPod touch or iPad; I do not necessarily recommend iTunes to others. I use the Zune PC software to sync photos from my Windows Phone to the PC and to browse Zune Marketplace.

I purchase DRM-free music from Apple iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, and Zune Marketplace. I subscribe to and pay for three subscription music services for comparison purposes: Spotify, Microsoft Zune Pass, and Pandora. Each are excellent, but I will presumably drop at least one of these in the coming year.

I am currently backing up my music collection to both Amazon Cloud Storage and Google Music Beta but I like the way Apple iCloud works, and the iTunes Match service is excellent and recommended.

I rarely purchase or rent TV shows and movies digitally thanks to improvements to the excellent Netflix streaming service. Netflix has emerged as one of the most valuable technology services we utilize, but we have been using the similar Amazon Prime streaming service, which doesn't have nearly as much content (but is free for customers of Amazon's Prime shipping service).

I use and recommend Audible for audio books. (Full disclosure: Audible advertises on my Windows Weekly podcast. That said, I would use and recommend this service regardless.)

I manage my photo collection in the Windows shell, but use the free Windows Live Photo Gallery for acquiring photos from devices and light image editing. For work related image editing, I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Microsoft Paint. I back up my photo collection to the Google Picasa Web Albums service, and pay the company for additional storage yearly.

I use QuickTime Player Pro and VLC Media Player to watch digital movies on the PC; both support soft captioning in H.264/MP4 files, but only VLC supports VobSub-style captioning. I generally prefer the iPad for this activity, however.

I use and recommend a few Slysoft products related to DVD copying. These include Slysoft AnyDVD HD (which removes DVD copy protection) and SlySoft CloneDVD (for creating backup copies of DVDs). I rip DVDs to H.264 format using latest version of Handbrake, which is both free and excellent (and can create videos with soft captioning). This utility can also convert existing videos to H.264. Note: I do not steal DVDs; I use these products to create digital copies of my own movies so that I can watch them on devices at home and on the go.

Like most people, I very rarely need to edit digital movies. When I do need to do so, however, I use Windows Live Movie Maker, which is excellent (and free).

Other applications and utilities

In addition to the aforementioned applications, I regularly use a number of other apps that don't necessarily fall into neat categories. I use Adobe Reader and/or Acrobat Pro for PDF files, Techsmith SnagIt for screen captures, Oracle VirtualBox (free) for PC-based OS testing, and the latest version of WinRAR for file archiving. I use Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone to tinker with Windows Phone 7 software development.

Home Office

When I'm not on the road, I spend most of the day in my home office, where I use my primary PC, Xbox 360, and some other stuff too...

Xbox 360

My own Xbox is an Xbox 360 S 4GB with an added 250 GB hard drive. It's attached to a Samsung 24-inch LED LCD (1080p) and a second set of Bose Companion 2 Series II speakers.

Xbox 360

Office furniture

I've gotten a number of questions about the furniture in my home office. I have a Herman Miller chair, which is at least 10 years old now but still works well. My desks various desks are all in the IKEA Galant workstation series.

Podcasting equipment

I use a variety of hardware to record various podcasts. This includes a Heil PR 40 microphone with PL2T Boom Mount, a USB-based M-Audio Fast Track Guitar/Mic Recording Interface, and a new Logitech HD WebCam C525 web camera, all of which are excellent.

Printer/scanner

Our main printer is a network-attached Dell 3130cn Color Laser Printer, which is huge and power-hungry, but quite capable. We also have a work issued HP Officejet J4580 All-In-Oneprinter, mostly for scanning travel receipts; I do not recommend this equipment.

Workout equipment

I try to go to a gym regularly and fail, but at home I do use a LifeFitness X3 Elliptical Cross-Trainer. Let's face it, people who work in front of computers all day need to do something.

Coffee

My favorite espresso, Guglielmo Espresso Classico, is now broadly available in the United States! We buy it locally at my favorite Italian specialty store, Tutto Italiano and brew it with a Lello 1375 Ariete Cafe Prestige espresso maker. It's inexpensive but it works well.

What I Use

Like many, I was hoping to see a new Lumia flagship before the end of 2014, and while I was pleasantly surprised in some ways by both the Lumia 735 and 830, neither offers the level of performance or best-in-market camera quality I had come to expected from Microsoft/Nokia's high-end devices. So I pulled the trigger on an unlocked Windows Phone flagship that will hopefully take me through at least the first half of this year. Or until Microsoft gets off its low-end fixation and satisfies the needs of its biggest fans....More

It's been a while since the last What I Use, but there haven't been many major changes since late last year: Surface Pro 3 has become my go-to travel companion, I've added a third cellphone line for testing Windows Phone, Android and iPhone side-by-side, and have rotated through some new tablets and other devices. We've also switched from FIOS to Comcast and added to our set-top box collection....More